Boyd reveals Maroons fullback ambition

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He has worn the No.1 jersey for Australia, been named Clive Churchill Medallist playing fullback for St George Illawarra in the 2010 Grand Final, and Darius Boyd says he still harbours a desire to play in his favoured position for Queensland before his career ends.

Having laid on a try for Greg Inglis to skip one clear of him on the all-time Origin try-scoring list in Game Two in Melbourne, Boyd looks certain to remain on the wing for Game Three in a fortnight with Inglis to replace the injured Billy Slater at fullback.

Draw Widget - Round 1 - Maroons vs Blues

Inglis's only previous stint in the Queensland No.1 jersey was filling in for Slater in Game Three of the 2012 Series, a series-deciding match where a Cooper Cronk field goal was all that separated the two teams.

With Slater unavailable for the Anzac Test in May, Inglis stepped into the fold as the Kiwis ran out convincing 26-12 victors, and the Rabbitohs custodian – who was superb in the centres in Game Two – is the favourite to be named as Slater's replacement by Queensland selectors next Monday.

Boyd has scored 15 tries in 22 Origin appearances which have all been on the wing but the Broncos fullback conceded that he would love to have a Maroons' No.1 jersey in his possession in the coming years.

"It'd be nice to have in the closet that's for sure," Boyd told NRL.com.

"I played fullback for Australia but obviously we've got Billy and there's 'GI' there as well so they're two class players and you've got the likes of Michael Morgan and Anthony Milford all coming through that can play fullback.

"It'd be nice but I won't die wondering if I don't get it. Yeah, I play fullback but I'd rather be on the wing than not be in the team at all.

"It's a great team, obviously some of these players will go down as some of the best players to ever play the game and our team will probably go down as one of the best teams to ever play in Origin and I'm stoked to be a part of that."

The Game Three decider at Suncorp Stadium on July 8 is all but a sell-out with the injury to Slater set to force Maroons coach Mal Meninga into at least one change in his backline.

Halfback Cooper Cronk is progressing well in his recovery from a knee injury with Dane Gagai likely to come onto the wing and Will Chambers to move into the centre spot created by Inglis's move to fullback.

Given the tenaciousness of young Blues forwards such as Aaron Woods and David Klemmer in Game Two there have been calls to bolster the Queensland bench, proposed changes rejected by veteran Maroons centre Justin Hodges.

As for finding a replacement for Slater, Hodges is confident they have the man for the job.

"With a big, 100-something kilo guy called Greg," Hodges said of how you replace the man many consider the game's best-ever fullback.

"We're going to miss Bill and his energy and the way he talks and communicates around the ground. He's obviously one of our leaders on the field but in saying that it will obviously give 'GI' a bit more freedom to roam.

"Everyone knows how dangerous he is and he's one bloke you don't want to be seeing coming back in an Origin match 100 miles an hour.

"In a way it's sad not to have Bill there but 'GI' will get his chance to play in the position he plays in every week.

"He was a bit down on himself after Game One, everyone knows the type of player he is and the things he can do. We're very excited by the fact that he's going back to fullback and hopefully he has another breakout game that will get us the win."